Lecture 14

Question 1

What is “bottom-up” approach to understanding ideology?

Answer 1

“Bottom-up”: ideologies tend to reflect this. It is underlying psychological needs and motives that influence an individual’s receptiveness to specific ideological positions. If you’re somebody who is easily startled that would predispose you to be on the political right. If “bottom-up” is true, then a conservative is a conservative in every culture and political context!

Question 2

How should “bottom-up” approach help with the WEIRD problem?

Answer 2

We think that ideologies tend to reflect “bottom-up” and therefore, we hope that we can avoid the “WEIRD” problem because our findings should fit every culture.

Question 3

What is the “top-down” approach to understanding ideology?

Answer 3

Acquisition of political attitudes through exposure to ideological bundles that are socially constructed by political elites. If these are really important for shaping ideology, we probably wouldn’t have much expectations along these lines.

Question 4

What are the three major components of authoritarianism?

Answer 4

Authoritarianism (high scores on these three)

1. A preference for convention
2. Submission to established authorities
3. Willingness to punish social deviants

Question 5

What is the relation between authoritarians and authoritarianism?

Answer 5

When you access authoritarians, they will score high on authoritarianism.

Question 6

What is social dominance orientation?

Answer 6

This is about thinking it is okay to be feel better than others. That social differences are okay.

Question 7

What is the relation between authoritarianism, social dominance orientation and “left-right” dimension?

Answer 7

If you’re high on authoritarianism and high on social dominance orientation, you are likely to be a Republican.

Question 8

What are the people who oppose social change?

Answer 8

Right-wing authoritarianism.

Question 9

What are the people who oppose equality?

Answer 9

High in social dominance orientation

Question 10

What is the relation between authoritarianism and unique environment?

Answer 10

Unique environment account for 33 % and 41 % of the variance in authoritarianism.

Question 11

Is authoritarianism stable over time?

Answer 11

Yes - just as personality becomes increasingly stable with age.

Question 12

How does university students change in their authoritarianism?

Answer 12

There are tendencies for university students to change about authoritarianism where people get more left-winged than when they started on university. It makes it more exploratory and therefore more likely to get a shift into a non-authoritarianism view. It’s viewed more as a peer effect other than a professor effect! It’s consistent that there is some change through one’s education.

Question 13

What Big Five traits are related to conservatism?

Answer 13

Negative openness, positive conscientiousness.

Question 14

Who are most conservatism - educated or non-educated 20 years old?

Answer 14

20-year olds are less conservative when they’re educated than 20-year olds that never got an education.
People with less education will begin parenthood earlier than educated people. There is some kind of shift here (when getting children) that get you to move to the right.

Question 15

When have right-ward shifts happened?

Answer 15

• Occurred among high-exposure survivors of 9/11
• May occur in society at large during times of distress
• May occur with parenthood

Question 16

When have left-ward shifts happened?

Answer 16

• During college, especially among students doing well

* Travel? More open to new ideas and social change

Question 17

What are some short-term shifts?

Answer 17

• Those triggered to feel disgust or concern with contamination would move to the right
• Made to feel vulnerable
• Decreased cognitive ability (get more conservative/right)
• Decreased perception of ability (may contribute to a shift to the right)

Question 18

What are the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and intelligence?

Answer 18

There is some association between higher intelligence score and how much a person earns. Your earnings have a relation to your attitude toward equality. Intelligence is modestly predictive of right-wing attitudes on economic issues – they are more likely to like economic inequality.

Question 19

What are the relationship between left-wing and intelligence?

Answer 19

Intelligence is a non-trivial predictor of left-wing attitudes. People who score higher in intelligence are quite in favor of change (left-wing people are in favor of change). People who acquire more intelligence, go and acquire more education and therefore, they will favor social change and go away from traditional gender roles - away from conservatism.

Question 20

When is intelligence to the right?

Answer 20

When talking about acceptance of inequality.

Question 21

When is intelligence to the left?

Answer 21

When talking about attitudes towards change – because they like change!

Question 22

What did Haidt want to illustrate?

Answer 22

How we engage in morale reasoning.

Question 23

How does Haidt think we morale reason?

Answer 23

He thinks that our moral judgments are typically very fast, preceding reasoning. Justifications provided when asked for them are generally “rationalizations” – after-the-fact accountings rather than accurate descriptions of their origins.

Question 24

What is moral dumbfounding (Haidt)?

Answer 24

When individuals have a moral reaction to an event or story but are unable to explain/justify their reaction, while still retaining their reflexive moral evaluation.

Question 25

Is harm most important to left or right?

Answer 25

Left sees it as more important, right sees it as less important. But both see it as important.

Question 26

Is fairness most important to left or right?

Answer 26

Left sees it as more important, right sees it as less important. But both see it as important.

Question 27

Is ingroup most important to left or right?

Answer 27

Those on the left see them as less important than harm and fairness. Those on the right rely more or less equally on all five.

Question 28

Is authority most important to left or right?

Answer 28

Those on the left see them as less important than harm and fairness. Those on the right rely more or less equally on all five.

Question 29

Is purity most important to the left or right?

Answer 29

Those on the left see them as less important than harm and fairness. Those on the right rely more or less equally on all five.